To Rockets' dismay, Yao has yet another ankle fracture

Is this the end?

Published 6:30 am, Thursday, December 16, 2010

Yao Ming said in the offseason that he would consider retirement if he had been unable to stay healthy.

Yao Ming said in the offseason that he would consider retirement if he had been unable to stay healthy.

Photo: EDWARD A. ORNELAS, San Antonio Express-News

To Rockets' dismay, Yao has yet another ankle fracture

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Rockets center Yao Ming's career, which began with spectacular hope and promise, could be facing its greatest threat.

An MRI performed Thursday found a stress fracture in Yao's left ankle five months after he said he might have to retire if he cannot stay healthy.

Yao, however, held out hope that he can come back from his latest setback.

"I have been working hard to get back on the court, so today's news was very disappointing for me," Yao said. "I will need some time to speak with my doctors to figure out my options moving forward, but I want to thank all those who have expressed their support for me during this time."

The latest injury is in the medial malleolus, which is on the inside of the ankle. The previous injury, which required massive reconstructive surgery in July 2009, was to the tarsal navicular bone at the top of the ankle. But the injuries are considered related.

"No one has worked harder than Yao Ming," Rockets owner Leslie Alexander said in an email. "He has been an All-Star player, even better person, and a global ambassador for the Rockets and the NBA. I know he will continue to persevere through this very difficult setback. Our entire organization, and Rockets fans all over the world, are behind him 100 percent."

Previous tests since Yao's Nov. 10 sprained ankle and bone bruise did not show the latest injury, which could have developed during his rehabilitation in the interim. The MRI was another stunning turn, coming with Yao optimistic he would be cleared to resume his comeback.

Yao, the first pick of the 2002 NBA draft, a seven-time All-Star and the beloved face of China's sports ambitions, has missed all or parts of six consecutive seasons with bone injuries. His Rockets contract expires after this season.

"If the foot injury does not heal next season," Yao said in an interview with Chinese state media in July, "I might choose to call it quits."

Yao, 30, emphasized a month after his comment in China that he was actually speaking about the development of the Chinese national team without him. But he reiterated that if he could not play without being hurt, he might have to choose not to play.

"I also told them, the worst case — I'm just saying the worst case, the worst case - is that I don't go through the season and have to retire after the season," Yao said.

Potential complication

It is too soon to know if this is the worst case. The latest stress fracture would normally not be career-threatening, but it is similar to the injury problems of veteran NBA forward Grant Hill, presently a member of the Phoenix Suns. What began as a sprain for Hill required four surgeries before he finally found a solution. Hill had reconstructive surgery, but for Yao, that option would be further complicated by his previous surgeries.

Others have come back with far fewer complications, including Dallas Mavericks All-Star Jason Kidd and Rockets rookie Patrick Patterson, who had the injury and surgery as a sophomore at Kentucky in 2008.

The Rockets said there is no timetable for Yao's return. If surgery is not required, a stress fracture often requires roughly two months before on-court rehab can begin. Because Yao already has missed five weeks, the rehab would be even more gradual than usual.

As with the previous stress fracture, Thursday's test results came amid relative optimism. Yao said Monday that he considered himself ready to rejoin practices and play in games, though he agreed that the muscles around the ankle were weakened by the inactivity following the injury.

Size a factor

When the previous stress fracture was discovered between Games 3 and 4 of the 2009 Western Conference semifinals against the Los Angeles Lakers, Yao had been hoping to play the next day. Weeks later, another MRI was thought to be needed only to clear him to begin the next stage of his rehabilitation. It instead sent him to weeks of examinations by specialists and the extensive surgery performed by former Rockets physician Tom Clanton.

"You have to say because of his (7-foot-6) size, the biomechanics of his foot, the history of what has happened and what he does playing basketball at his size, he is always at risk of something like this happening," Clanton said in 2009. "No one else in the world is doing what he is doing. There is a risk. We have to manage that."

If Yao is out for the remainder of the season, the Rockets could petition the NBA for a disabled player exception to the salary cap. That would allow them to acquire a replacement player for up to half of Yao's $17.686 million salary.

For now, the Rockets feel for their center.

"I was shocked," guard Aaron Brooks said. "I felt so bad. He works so hard. You hate when bad things happen to good people.

"I remember him saying just walking into the gym, just hearing the sound of the ball hitting the floor, that he loves to hear it. It shows his passion. No one loves basketball more. No one works harder. If someone takes away the thing you like to do most and says you can't do it anymore, that would be just terrible."